Imaging of InGaN inhomogeneities using visible apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope

The optical properties of epitaxially grown islands of InGaN are investigated with nanometer-scale spatial resolution using visible apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy. Scattered light from the tip-sample system is modulated by cantilever oscillations and detected at the third harmonic of the oscillation frequency to distinguish the near-field signal from unwanted scattered background light. Scattered near-field measurements indicate that the as-grown InGaN islanded film may exhibit both inhomogeneous In composition and strain-induced changes that affect the optical signal at 633 nm and 532 nm. Changes are observed in the optical contrast for large 3D InGaN islands (100's of nm) of the same height. Near-field optical mapping of small grains on a finer scale reveals InGaN composition or strain-induced irregularities in features with heights of only 2 nm, which exhibit different near-field signals at 633 nm and 532 nm incident wavelengths. Optical signal contrast from topographic features as small as 30 nm is detected